


A Crown Of Golden Leaves

by maize_onice



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Romance, Sad, Season/Series 08
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maize_onice/pseuds/maize_onice
Summary: The real reason why they didn't speak.They had two weeks before the council began. They had two weeks in King's Landing before they part ways. They knew. It is the matter of how to say goodbye.Love is the death of duty. Duty is sometimes the death of love.





	1. You Look Good

It was quiet. The war over, one can see that. But what he saw that day made his entire body numb. The only sound that broke the silence was Davos' soft steps. What looked like snow wasn't. _Ash_ , he concluded as he rubbed them between his fingers. King's Landing has fallen. The Queen was no more.  
\------  
He heard the news. Everyone talked about it. The cold bitter air of Winterfell stung his skin the moment he stepped out of the fordge. Gendry saw the Lady Sansa, briskly walking across the court. With no second thoughts, he went to her, his breath heavy and his chest heaving. 

"Is it true?" He blurted. "Pardon, my lady." He bowed his head, his ears warm at the intrusion. 

"Lord Gendry." She acknowledged. For the stag, it still stung. "We travel to King's Landing at daybreak." Sansa's words were cold. But, her eyes were filled with emotions Gendry could not comprehend. She was very strong.  
\------  
King's Landing was at its busiest. The strongest houses of Westeros, gathering. Jon Snow was to be sentenced. He murdered the Dragon Queen. Tyrion Lannister, the Hand, committed treason. He was processing them slowly in his head. Ash covered his jerkin. He lost time, walking and looking of what was the Capital. _All of this for a stupid chair._ He lamented. There were too many things, his thoughts became white noise. This is a world he was getting himself into; the world of kings, royals, lords and ladies. And he needed to learn how to defend himself with his brain now and not his hammer. He stopped at the base of the castle's remains. Gendry never felt smaller.

"You look good."

It was a familiar voice. And also very frightening to him. Gendry turned, very slowly. Arya Stark stood there, her hands behind her back. Her face blank and unforgiving. It still hurt. 

"You were here?" That was all he could muster, his eyes landed on the wounds above her right brow. "When all of this..." He suddenly felt exhausted. He couldn't finish any sentences when he was with her. 

Her footsteps were soft, catlike. Arya moved toward him and stopped a few feet away. "It was hell." 

"I see it." Gendry's voice was higher than he expected. Anger. 

"I came to kill the Queen." She said. Was that an explanation? Gendry shook his head and turned his back on her. 

"I don't want to hear it." Still angry but his voice was soft. 

"When I was a little girl, all I hear was stories of kings and lords, fighting to rule. I thought they be heroes. I wanted to be like them back in the day." She was now beside him, both gazing upward to the sky, tracing the line of the citadel. "Then I played their game, those kings and rulers, lords and ladies, their Queens with their stupid hair and dresses." Arya paused. "And then I grew up and I realized, I could be more."

Her last sentence left a lump in the Baratheon's throat. 

"I am leaving Westeros." She finally said. Her tone changed, a slight giddiness in them. She turned to Gendry waiting for a response, a reaction. Anything. 

"Why?" He didn't want to sound defeated.

"Because Westeros is horse shit." Arya scoffed. 

"Aye, that it is." He agreed any way.

"How is it being Lord Baratheon?"

"I never left Winterfell." Gendry looked at her. Arya's eyes turnes wide. "Not yet, I mean." She relaxed. "I needed to help the men after the war." They stared into each other's eyes. It lingered. "Nothing else." And the gazes broke. 

"Lord Gendy. Lady Arya." It was Davos. Sansa was with him. They both turned on their heel from where the voice came from. "Are we interrupting?"

"No. None at all." Gendry was dismissive and swiftly moved away from the younger Stark. I don't need this right now. Arya was left surprised.

"I didn't know you knew each other." Sansa tilted her head.

"In the past , yes." Gendry was firm as he bowed his head. 

Arya raised a brow. "He was the one who made my weapons." Cold. Painful. "Nothing else."

Gendry's lips pursed. And he turned tonher one more time. Right. _Nothing else._


	2. You Are Very Handsome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Gendry. We talked about this." Davos hummed under his breath hoping to keep Gendry's temper at bay.

Sunlight barely peeked through the clouds still. Ash still fell like snow, never ending. King's Landing was grieving.

With little to nothing left, the visiting Houses decided pitched tents and some stayed on their ships at the port, or rather, what was left of it. It was still quiet. Two days have passed since their arrival at King's Landing. They were all there, fresh from the battle of Winterfell. But this time it wasn't snow stopping to rest on their brows. The past days have been salvaging the fallen from the streets, proper burials and stopping to rest when the body becomes too labored from the day's work.

He broke a piece of bread with his teeth, dropping himself from the ground. Gendry was was brooding. And he did not enjoy a bit of it. Arya's sharp tongue got him the other day. _Nothing else._ He was very familiar with how she went about her ways. Yet, their last conversation was laced with something he cannot put his finger on. 

"Gendry." Davos' voice broke his silence. Gendry acknowldged the presence of the older man and gave him a weak smile. Ser Davos' lips were moving. It was probably important even, but the noise in his head kept pounding. His migraines followed him. His thoughts always drifitng to somewhere else. It was taking a toll on him; Lord duties. 

\-----

She could tell her sister was anxious. Arya coild easily tell by the way she pulls on the tips of her sleeves and her excessive blinking. "Are you alright?" Of course she had to ask.

"Never better." Sansa gave her a weak smile. Arya took that answer. _Of course that was her answer._

Jon Snow was set to put to sentence. Then there was Tyrion Lannister. And the dead; Cersei. Jaimie. The Hound. Daenerys Targaeryan. All roped up in this wheel. And the thousands and thousands of innocent people who didn't get to choose theirs. They were not strangers to death. And they have to clean up the mess the squabble has designed. 

"I believe we have certain matters to discuss". Sansa was pulling out a distraction. Arya took a swift look at her and back to the distance again. Both girls were smiling. Somehow. They had to, albeit reluctant. "He is very handsome." The older Stark eyed the younger. Her blue eyes bounced from her sister to the dark-haired boy just across from where the were camped, arguing something with Ser Davos. 

"And brave. And kind. And strong. But not so smart. He his bullheaded and he broods too much." A pause. "He is a very good man. He was more fun as smith than a Lord though." Arya finished, her face deadpan. _Lord Gendry Baratheon_. She said the words as if she repeated those words in her head for days on end, like a prayer. 

Sansa looked impressed. Her smile grew wide. "We have a lot of things to talk about apparently." 

"Not really." Arya's voice still solid. "I know him from a long time ago." That sentence just made Sana even more lost. A mischievous scoff and then Arya blurted, "I aslo went to bed with him by the way." 

Now, Sansa was just stunned. They looked at each other for a long while. And slowly the stern look on their faces melted and they both exploded in a hearty laughter. It was such a good laugh. It was warm. It was warm in their belly. It was warm in their heart. It was warm in all places. To Arya, it was the warmest she could remember. 

"Little sister, I love you. But that joke would cause such a big scandal, I suggest you don't spout that anywhere beyond our own ears." Sansa wiped a happy tear from her eye. 

Arya was taken back at her sister's comment. She was still smiling but a little string tugged her heart. She shook her head in an attempts to shove the weight she suddenly felt on her entire beinv. "Lord Gendry Baratheon!" She called out, all of a sudden. "Gendry!" Both men from across camp looked their way. Arya needed a reaction. Some other feeling he could get from stubborn Bull and never looking her way. She was brutal. And she knew, Gendry was terrified. And maybe perhaps, upset. "My sister said you are very handsome." Arya's tone was teasing. That left Sansa flustered. "I suggest you pay a bit of gratitude." She egged on, her left brow raising. And Gendry stood up, heading their way with a very concerned Davos Seaworth tailing him. 

\----- 

"Gendry. We talked about this." Davos hummed under his breath hoping to keep Gendry's temper at bay. 

Now he was just mad. She was challenging him. Arya Stark was making him angry on purpose. Gendry shook his head. He clapped both of his hands to remove the bread crumbs. He doesn't want any of that on any Lady. But in his deepest crevasses of his mind, oh he wanted to just smack Arya Stark's head. "Ser Davos, please." And he got up and gave a very uncomfortable smile at both Stark siblings.

As he drew nearer where the sisters were at, he could see the slight embarrassment the taller Stark. He would glare at Arya. But, ignoring where she stood was possibly the most effective effort of retaliation. 

"Lady Sansa." He bowed his head, his hands behind his back. Polite as ever. "Thank you for the compliment. I do humbly apologize. I cannot stay for far too long. I have been feeling unwell since our arrival." A pause. "Ser Davos," He turned to the older man who managed to catch up to him. "I hope you do not mind but I am asking permission to take my leave and I wish to retire to my tent." Then, he took Sansa's hand and placed a small kiss. A small smile was on the red-head's lips. She was impressed. "My lady."

And Arya's eyes furrowed. "You are learning." She poked. She would deny it, but she was asking for his attention. And she wasn't very happy. 

He knew the difference. He knew where he stood. He knew where he was needed. Arya needn't need to remind him. Gendry finally turned to her. Eyes blue and cold as steel. "M'lady". And a bow. And Gendry walked away. He didn't need any of this. He did not need any more of it. Davos followed suite, and started talking to him in low hushes. 

_Nobles used 'My lady'. Lowborns use 'M'lord'._ Arya glared back. That was one lesson she plucked from Tywin Lannister years ago. One that she will never forget. And a lesson she did not expect to be used against her sometime in her future. 

Sansa cleared her throat, noticing the obvious change in Arya's demeanor. She didn't dare speak. She did allow a concerned look to glisten in her eyes. 

"Funny story." Arya's voice was low. Pondering. "He asked me to marry him, by the way." She could hear Sansa's breath hitch. She looked at her sister. "I said no." She felt her sister's grasp on her arm. It was soft. It was warm. It was understanding. It was forgiving. 

"Why?" She brushed a lock of hair off Arya's face. "That is cruel." Sansa understood. Sansa knew everything. 

Arya shook her head. "No. I gave him mercy" A big lump in her throat.

And she could not offer any other word. Her mind wandered to a memory of blue eyes that used to shimmer for her. Now it has become the slowly shrinking shape of his back as he walks away and if she was lucky, she would be able to catch a glimpse of his now vey cold, steel blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last time I wrote fanfiction was years ago. Maybe I was about fifth grade? Haha. I have mapped mt entire story and I have already deliberated on the ending. Thank you for the comments. It sparks wonderful ideas.


	3. You Are Stupid As You Are Aggravating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Where are you going?” Of course she found him. Her voice rang in his ears. Arya approached him, her feet soft and silent. 
> 
> Gendry crooked his head to her and gave her a wry smile. “There is a smithy here. Want to come with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just continuing as I go. I am having trouble putting my thoughts into words. Please bear with me.

_“Hey, Gendry.” Arya asked, rolling to where the older boy was drifting slowly to sleep. They were under a tree. Hot Pie’s snoring was in the background and the eerie coos of owls filled the cold night air. It was a long and exhausting day, running around and fearing every corner they might encounter could be their last. “Did you like King’s Landing?”_

_Gendry’s eyes half-opened and he sighed heavily, “I didn’t really have a choice, did I?”_

_“Guess not.” She seems unnerved. “Hey, Gendry...” Arya pressed on, her voice unfortunately still awake and alive._

_“Go to sleep, Arry.” His voice sad._  
\-----  
It was a cold night. It was cold quiet and the shadows dance as flames rose from the middle of the camp. It was supper time and there the air was filled with faint murmurs and muted idle chatter. It was the third day since the fall of King’s Landing. Ash still not subsiding. 

Arya scooped the last of her stew. She sat far away from the crowd. Sansa Stark barely touched her food, she observed. Sansa had always busied herself for the sake of others. She was in a deep conversation with Ser Davos, a few soldiers and other men who she cannot put faces nor figures on who helped with relief. It took her a while to gather, that a certain Lord Gendry Baratheon wasn’t even there. Her eyes narrowed as she stood from her corner, made her way to dispose the remnants of her supper. _It has been an entire day._ Mused Arya, as she scanned the camp site. He last spoke of feeling ill and wanting to rest. It was either he was avoiding her or he was really feeling out of it. Arya believed the former.  
\-----  
It was a cold night. Gendry slipped on his gloves as he navigated his way through the darkness, his path dimly lit with only the flickering flames the camp provided. He headed for the stables, faint whinnying greeted him as he approached. He needed to visit somewhere. Gendry grasped the reigns of one of the horses. It was a black stallion. It was a magnificent horse. A horse Gendry even had trouble getting used to riding… or rather never. _Fit for a Lord they say._

He refused supper. He hasn’t been hungry since Ser Davos and he arrived in King’s Landing. He always felt sick to his stomach and most of the time light headed. A destroyed and burnt city, he did not expect. And Arya Stark’s presence still did not sit well with him. A faint smile formed on his lips as he remembered, despite the rather frustrating encounter, Arya’s brow sliding upwards trying to aggravate him. It was either she was mocking him or she just wanted to worsen his head ache. Gendry banked on both.  
“Where are you going?” Of course she found him. Her voice rang in his ears. Arya approached him, her feet soft and silent. 

Gendry crooked his head to her and gave her a wry smile. “There is a smithy here. Want to come with me?” 

Arya’s posture shook. _Want to come with me?_ Gendry loved forges. She remembered when they were younger; his bank and stern Bull eyes would brighten at the idea of seeing a smith’s shop. And he always would invite her. Always. 

She didn’t bother asking. Arya offered him a smirk. She waited a bit, Gendry’s leg swung over the black horse and proceeded to make himself comfortable. He stretched his hand to her, his eyes rather mellow and serene which made Arya open her mouth to say something. No words would come out. She was feeling something and she wasn’t quite sure. Yet, she enjoyed it. She wanted this now.

Giving up, she hoisted herself up with his arm supporting her and she plopped behind him. One hand on the saddle, and one hand on Gendry’s waist. Her eyes traced the shape of his broad shoulders, his neck and her eyes lingered at the site of his profile. It felt alien to her, that level of closeness she had with the Baratheon boy. _He got bigger._ Her thoughts played. It was a good thing it was dark and she was at the rear. That way, Gendry Baratheon wouldn’t see Arya Stark’s face flush.   
\-----  
Wherever Gendry was taking Arya, he was making sure he was taking his time. They haven’t spoken since they left the campsite. The moon was out and it illuminated the path to where Gendry was taking them. The air was getting clearer as the days passed since the city fell. There were less bodies on the streets. The clean-up was going better than usual, to their relief, as Gendry was pushing on further down the roads of what was King’s Landing. 

“Is this your thing now, nightly excursions?” Arya broke the silence. She was getting quite comfortable. Her words were soft and in no mood to pester him. She figured this was something important to him and despite being still so unsure, she wanted to respect that.

Their horse stopped.

“You asked me a long time ago, if I liked King’s Landing.” Gendry’s voice was close to a whisper. It was dark but Arya swore she saw his eyes glisten in the night. Now gone with stone and debris covering it, Gendry nodded to a pathway, which led down to somewhere who knows where from where they were standing at. “This. This is where I grew up.”

“Flea Bottom.” They both said in unison. And they finally looked at each other. And they smiled. 

Gendry was the first to look away. He slowly got off his horse to catch a better look at the ruins of where his childhood used to be. The darkness wasn’t helping. But in his mind’s eye, the shape of what was his home was as vivid and bright as day. He felt a slight chill run up him. And there it was, the slight tug at his chest. It haunted him. _Flea bottom._ “Somewhere down this road…” He trailed. “I lived here with my mother. She would go to the taverns to do… work… and I would be here playing with the rest of the children while I waited. Most of my memory is just that. The only thing that was different was when she didn’t come home and I just got word she died.” He exhaled through his teeth. “Just like that.”  
“And the reason?”

He shook his head. “I don’t remember.” He chose not to. “Next thing I knew, I was being sold to Tobho Mott and I have been hammering iron ever since.” He turned towards her and his eyes caught hers.   
And Arya got the message.

\-----

Gendry busied himself, tying his steed safely just outside. The forge was bigger than what they had in Winterfell. She went ahead and made her way in, pushing the broken doors that ended up barricading the entrance of the shop. Arya ran her fingers at the tables, the tongs and other trinkets she could grab hold of, deciphering them in the dark. The room was then suddenly filled with yellow light, with Gendry finally with a torch in hand, lighting the other posts He knew this place like the back of his hand, of course, knowing which post would have light or two. 

“Ten years.” He placed the torch near on a work station where an anvil was unmoved. “I grew up in this forge. Work didn’t seem like work to me. I enjoyed smithing. Everything else not so much.”

“What was it like?” 

“Hot. Tiring. But it placed food on the table and I was doing something worthwhile. Saved me a lot of trouble.” Gendry leaned at a workbench, looking around the area. He was amused mostly, nostalgic even, but there was a bit of melancholy there somewhere. He was quiet for a while until he continued. “I never liked King’s Landing.” He crossed his arms in front of him, like warm embrace to keep himself from shaking. “But it was home. I had nothing else.” A pause. “This place meant a lot to me. Just something I thought you might find mildly interesting about me—I mean this place.” He cleared his throat. “I met your father here. And little ways on, I met you on the way to the Wall.”

Arya felt a lump in her throat. She mirrored where Gendry was, just across him. She too was leaning on a table. There was silence between them. The fire’s light playing shadows on their faces. All of Arya’s attention were there now. What was the right thing to say at this point? There were so many things running through her mind. And there he was in the same room as her, with no trace of venom on his lips and eyes. And he brought her here why? Gendry was up to something and not knowing vexed her. 

“And now I am suddenly a Lord.” He chuckled. It sounded bitter. “I am not so sure where to put myself in this to be quite frank.” He slapped a hand on his neck and tried to make the moment as light hearted as possible. “The slightest idea of actually facing all of these people is terribly discomforting.” And he droned on. And on. And on. “Imagine, someone like me… Someone like me would actually get this far and--”

“Gendry Baratheon.” Arya broke his musings.

Gendry shot back. “Arya Stark.” 

“You are stupid, you know that?” She quirked a brow. “You are stupid as you are aggravating.” 

“That’s a good thing, I am guessing.” 

“You make stupid decisions. You cannot stop whinging. And you didn’t even eat supper.” 

“How observant.”

“You are annoying.”

“Perhaps.”

Arya slammed her hand on the table behind her. “Stop it.”

Gendry raised his nose a bit and smirked. “Stop what?”

“Stop pretending there is nothing to talk about?” He voice hitched unnaturally. Gendry’s eyes wide now, surprised. 

“But Arya, there isn’t really anything to talk about.” Gendry conceded. He was in no mood to argue. “I honestly believe the last few days of banter were uncalled for and I am here to make amends.” Or so he convinced himself. If they were going to be proper about it, they would at least act like adults, for everyone’s sake. 

Arya was upset. She couldn’t comprehend why. But her rage was visible despite how calm her demeanor was. And Gendry just stood there looking at her. Everything about him provoked her.   
“Maybe it is best to forget about it.”

“About what?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Do you want to say anything else? Before I slam my fist to your throat.” 

“If I say anything, it won’t change anything now would it?” Gendry said, straightening himself from the table was leaning on. “Tell me something, if you didn’t want anything to do with me, why did come with me tonight?”

“You ask me to and it is a harmless visit to bloody knows where.” 

“No. You wanted to get something out of me. What is it?”

“Horseshit.”

“Aye, it is isn’t it.” 

“You’re horseshit.”

“Perhaps.”

She lost, she spun around and decided to exit. There was really nothing to get from Gendry Baratheon now. What was she wanting from Gendry Baratheon in the first place? A decent conversation? Did she just allow herself to be cornered by the worst possible candidate to pit against her? How stupid. 

“I meant what I said.” Gendry’s voice petrified her in her tracks. Arya slowly turned to him, her eyes glaring at him. He felt it, despite the darkness. “You are beautiful.”

And Arya’s mouth ran dry.

**Author's Note:**

> This was set before the trial in the Dragon's Pit, SE08EP06. And maybe what comes after. :) A fix-it fic for us who haven't gotten our closure nor explanation. Cheers, my kin. First fic in years. Be nice. I just need to mend my heart. Somehow.


End file.
